Congratulations, Checkout.com!

Today the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance approved Checkout.com’s Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank (MALPB) charter. This puts Checkout on track to operate as its own acquirer in the U.S. It was a pleasure working with Emilie Mathieu, Jordan Reynolds, Aisling Pringleton, Maria Lacayo, and the Checkout team on this project, and we’re so happy for them on reaching this significant milestone.

For those unfamiliar with the MALPB, here’s a bit of background. The state of Georgia introduced its merchant acquirer limited purpose bank charter for payment card merchant processors in 2012. The charter is designed to even the playing field for non-bank payment processors by allowing a MALPB to:

◾ Obtain and maintain payment card network memberships;

◾ Underwrite merchants to accept payment card transactions;

◾ Facilitate the clearing and settlement of payment card transactions with issuing banks on behalf of merchants; and

◾ Provide the MALPB’s affiliates, customers, or customers of affiliates access to card networks.

Unlike a full-service national bank, a MALPB does not make loans and can only take deposits from its corporate parent. But a MALPB and other state alternative charters are trying to solve fintech’s “square peg-round hole” problem with the existing charters, which is that a traditional bank charter may be overkill for a fintech that has a limited business model (i.e., more on one side of the balance sheet than the other).

Going into 2026, it’s clear that the regulatory landscape in the U.S. is much more welcoming of innovation generally and, in particular, of companies like Checkout.com that want to find a path to becoming a regulated entity. We’re proud to have assisted Checkout in reaching this important milestone. If you’d like to chat charters, give us a call.